WINNER - 2025 BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - Grand Jury Prize & Ecumenical Jury Prize
The best-reviewed film of the 2025 Berlinale - where it topped Screen International’s prestigious critics’ poll - Gabriel Mascaro’s extraordinary THE BLUE TRAIL is a breathtaking cinematic odyssey that follows the misadventures of a determined Brazilian woman who – as her working life draws to an end – secretly sets out on a trip down the Amazon to fulfil a long-held dream.
It’s the near future. Independent 77-year-old Tereza (the astonishing Denise Weinberg) has lived her whole life in a small, industrialised town, working on the production line at a local factory. One day she's surprised to return home to an official government order, forcing relocation to a senior housing colony in an isolated area where the elderly are - purportedly - brought to ‘enjoy’ their final years in comfort, while their relatives are freed from caring duties. But the rules seem to have changed; Tereza wasn’t expecting the directive until she turned 80.
Refusing to accept the fate imposed on her, Tereza impulsively decides to embark on a journey down the rivers and tributaries of the Amazon… one that will change her destiny forever.
Vividly showcasing both the natural beauty and corruption of the Amazon in every frame, THE BLUE TRAIL finds in its protagonist a beacon of optimism. Indeed, offering a glorious rebuke to authoritarian rule, Mascaro’s fable is an enchanting celebration of vitality, resilience and defiance that will make viewers’ hearts and spirits soar.